Christmas past

I'm sure that I have mentioned it more than once.If not I will mention it again.I love Christmas, I love the memories that go with it. But I hate, despise and even detest change.I tried to tell myself to move on this year.I can not bring back what once was.The people that made it what it was are all gone now.Despite my best efforts I am afraid I succumbed to a bit of...no a lot of depression in these last couple weeks.Yes, you are right, I should be thankful for what I have right now and the opportunities to begin fresh with my own family.But try as I might I still long for the warm fuzzy feelings,the giddy anticipation that begins as soon as the calender changes from "November" to "December" the "Good Will towards all men"(which seems to be non existent these days). I guess I long to be a kid again.Being an adult isn't always what its cracked up to be.
Before this post starts turning into "Bah humbug" I wanted to share a memory with you.Nothing fancy.Nothing extravagant.Just a childhood memory.One of the things I always look forward to is putting up the tree.Mostly for the ornaments.I love getting them out of the box and looking at them.Each one seems to have something special about it.Some of my favorite ones at Grandma's house were some little toy soldiers.Decked out in slime green,flocked uniforms with big black hats with brightly colored feathers and little angelic faces. I can not tell you how many hours on Sunday afternoons I spent carefully moving them around the tree,with my imagination going full throttle.I loved them.I was enchanted by them.Needless to say, these little men made their way into my Christmas stash. Unfortunately they were beginning to look their age.Well I couldn't stand to get rid of them, so they got a make over.A little paint,some new feathers,a few shiny things and WHA-LA! they are just as good as new.Hopefully they will be around for many more years to come.They make me smile.They make me remember.